Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend! For starters, Saturday was Sawyer's birthday. He asked for a tea party for breakfast (why not?).

Than he and I went on a hike in Cub Run Stream Valley Park.


Later in the day, we went to two friends' wedding, where Sawyer was the ring bearer (he did great). Here is a picture of the three of us all dressed up:

On Sunday, we invited his friends from school to a party at a nearby nature center. They heard about local animals (including getting to pet a snake):


And they went searching for lizards (they saw two):


And they ate Spiderman cake (decorated by Becky).


I can safely say that a good time was had by all!

Backyard camping

I was going to take Sawyer camping at a nearby lake, but it was pouring rain. So we changed our plans -- Sawyer watched me get soaked while I set up tents in my parents' backyard instead.

Becky says this story is too gooshie, but it was cute when it happened: I said "I love you, Sawyer." as I was zipping him into his tent for the night, and he said something he rarely does: "I love you too, Daddy." That made getting all wet worth it.

We took these photos the next day, which was beautiful and totally dry (of course).

AAAAAHHHHHHHH

The inauguration

The plan was to meet friends at ten 'around the carousel,' which in hindsight, was insanity.

I took the metro in, followed the river of people (I really didn't have a choice where I was moving), and was deposited near the Washington Memorial.

There was camaraderie among the people I was mashed up against. We cheered at the sliver of jumbotron we could see, and laughed loudly when the announcer told us we could be seated.

After the oath, the poet laureate was the end credits, and the river shifted. I couldn't get within a half-mile of the L'Enfant Plaza station (I heard later on NPR it was a 2+ hour wait), so I walked around the elipse and saw the floats and the bands setting up.

I thought it might be best to walk home... got across the bridge (my favorite part of the day), and Becky emailed me saying it would take 5 hours the way I was headed (I was taking the road we drive to church)... My sister saved the day and told me how to get to another metro station in Virginia. Found it; no wait for a train at all. Got home before the family and curled up on the couch under a blanket!

New Year's in Colorado

We traveled to Colorado for the week of New Year's with my parents, my sister's family, and my brother-in-law's brother's family. Snowy weather activities ensued.

Teresa, Alan and Sawyer ready for the slopes:
Jim and I at 10k feet in Winter Park. This isn't even the top of the mountain.

Sawyer and Nana making snowmen.

Becky and Sawyer taking a break outside our cabin:

Papa trying out his new snowshoes:

One very exciting thing we did as a group was go tubing at Fraser Tubing Hill.

Here's one run where we went down in a big group. It may not seem like it, but we're going very, very fast.:


To give it some perspective:


All these pictures are from the three family cameras. I don't even remember who took them, but most weren't me.

Thanksgiving '08

Living close to our parents has lots of advantages (including free babysitting). One big plus is that we're able to all get together for Thanksgiving.


My parents hosted, and we were joined by Becky's parents and their friend Wayne.


The food was great (my mom brined a turkey) and there was lots of it (I had a piece of each of the 3 pies). Here's my dad expertly carving the bird.


Here's Sawyer giving a tour of the photos in the house. I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time. Thanks to my parents for hosting! :)

Election Night

My boss recommended I take a certification program in Chicago, and it happened to be for the first week in November. So, before I left town, I signed up through Obama's website for free tickets to the election night rally in Grant Park. I heard it was a long shot--something like a million requests for 50k tickets, but I was lucky enough to get a free ticket plus one for a guest.

I didn't know anyone in town to go with, so I gave away my ticket on Craigslist (some people were selling them for $500+). My Craigslist buddy (Shana, a schoolteacher from Lakeview) had to enter at the same time as me, so we met up in front of a bar nearby to walk to the park. We got lost, so we walked for an hour...

Once we arrived, we waited in lines to get through the multiple security checks (this took another hour.) Despite the wait, the crowd was enthusiastic.

Inside, the crowd was packed tight. The photo below shows the ticket-holder area--we were halfway to the stage on the right. We stood there for three hours watching CNN's coverage as the polls closed, an experience that was very much like watching TV while standing for three hours surrounded by 100k people. It was very exciting (big cheers at every state announced) but very tiring.

The photo below shows the people without tickets--they were mashed against the fences. I read the final estimate was 200k people total at the rally.
After it became clear that a winner had been decided (but before Obama spoke), we headed out. I'm just not used to being on my feet that long, I guess. Leaving our spot in the crowd took 20 minutes...

I was a disappointed that I couldn't make it the whole night, but I needed a break. I took the L back to my hotel. People on the street were cheering and honking horns. I got back to my room just in time to watch Obama's speech from my bed :-)

Halloween

Sawyer and I went trick-or-treating at a few houses in our neighborhood. At first, he just stood in shock at people's doors. By the end, he wasn't shy at all -- grabbing candy from the bowls and shouting 'Trick or Treat!'.

Tour of Sprucewold Lodge

Last post about our trip! As I mentioned, we went to Boothbay and stayed in Sprucewold Lodge, which is an incredible log-cabin style lodge in a beautiful forest above the harbor. The building had a great classic look (the halls reminded us a little of The Shining), it was clean, the food was fantastic, and the staff was very helpful and friendly. We really had a fun time --

Here's Sawyer giving a tour of the lobby:

You'll notice the lobby features both an inside and an outside.

Also, they had funny hats in the dining area.
Which Sawyer refused to partake in.

Memorial Day Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend, Becky and I went to New York to visit our friends Dave and Carrie. Sawyer stayed behind, and spent half the weekend with Nana and Papa, and the other half with Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone enjoyed their vacations!

Here are some highlights! Sawyer with Nana at Frying Pan Park:
Grandpa playing lifeguard:
Me canoing with Dave. If I look a little rough, it's because the night before was the coldest I've ever been! (camping tip: remember to pack a sleeping bag.)

Here's Dave's report on the weekend.

Political Involvement

Sawyer has not yet given his endorsement to a presidential candidate. However, I went to an Obama rally in Virginia yesterday and dragged Sawyer along because I thought he might enjoy seeing the crowds.

I picked him up from daycare (mid-nap!) at 1:30 and got to the venue at 2 for an event that was scheduled to start at 6. (There were predictions that 50k people might show up, and I wanted to make sure we could sit in the shade.) Because we arrived early, we were lucky to get box seating, which gave us plenty of room to move around.

It was a long and hot day, but Sawyer had a fun time clapping and cheering for the different speakers and musicians. He did a good job sitting and listening, but by the end, he ran out of steam. I had promised him we would leave if he got too tired or hot, so we stayed for about 15 minutes of Obama's speech and headed for the car.

Because we left early, we didn't have any problems with traffic. Still, Sawyer fell asleep before we left the parking lot.

Bicycle

Becky bought a bike trailer a couple weeks ago through Craigslist. It was an easy transaction, and we feel like we got a good deal. It sat in the closet because we needed bike helmets for everyone, it's been rainy, etc...

Sunday afternoon, while Sawyer and I were playing outside (his favorite place), I told him we'd go inside to get the bicycle in a little while. That was a bit of a mistake because:

1. Bicycle is one of his words, and hearing that he was going for a ride with one raised his excitement level to about 110%


2. My bike was upstairs, the trailer was disassembled in the closet and we'd never attached the two
3. I was supposed to be giving Becky a break, and I'd need help with all of the above

After we got Becky on board with the plan, I hauled all the equipment outside, and Becky was able to convince Sawyer to wear his helmet for the first time. When we'd try before, he was quick with an "all-done", but this time he was motivated.

At this point, Sawyer was jumping, shouting and trying to help (pump air, tighten nuts, whatever I had just finished doing.) It took a few minutes but we got the bicycle and the trailer ready. Getting them connected together was another story...

Of course, Sawyer was going crazy during this and trying to climb my bike (We said, "Daddy's bicycle, Sawyer's bicycle," which he repeated).

Eventually, we did all work together to get it assembled. We took a few slow loops in the parking lot and Sawyer enjoyed it, particularly speed bumps.

When we were done, Sawyer insisted on helping Becky push the bike back home.

It was a haircut kind of day

Sawyer went out to get his hair cut the other week and we took the opportunity to document the event for posterity. At the end, Sawyer got a lollipop and some fancy spiked-up hair from the hairdresser. Enjoy the video and 5 points to anyone who spots Tim. : )

Music: Sufjan Stevens

Edit by Tim: Here's me in the video.

Canoe

Sawyer went in a canoe this weekend while we were visiting our friends Dave and Carrie in Rochester, NY.

We did other stuff, too, including the National Museum of Play. Thanks for showing us a good time, Dave and Carrie!

At the lake

We had a quiet couple of days up in Maine.

Around Honolulu

I dragged my family to the contemporary art museum in Honolulu today, which features a large outdoor garden. Sawyer enjoyed the view from his backpack.


A highlight from the museum was when we visited the L'Enfant et les Sortilges exhibit, which is a group of colorful stage decorations housed in a darkened room. My sister did a dramatic reading of the show's brochure, which contained exerpts from the opera that the decorations were made for. Teresa and Alan enjoyed searching for the characters painted on the walls as they were mentioned in the story.

Becky and I had a memorable visit to this museum in 2003 ...

(picture of becky and tim in 2003 coming soon)

so it was nice to bring Sawyer back to see it.


After the museum, we went to the nearby Punchbowl National Cemetery to put fresh cut flowers on the grave of my dad's uncle Royce, who died in 1945.


(all pictures taken by my dad.)

Sawyer's aunt Becky took us to a beautiful beach on Hickam Air Force Base today, where Sawyer got his first taste of the Pacific. The swimming lessons with grandma paid off -- he had a great time.

(Thanks to my sister for the photo!)